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Copyright 2012 Fair Trade Digital Exchange, all rights reserved

Ed Botts Windows 8 Head Start, Consumer Preview Edition Page 1

ENJOY THE SAMPLE CHAPTER; BUY THE

WHOLE BOOK

We hope you enjoy this sample chapter from Ed BottsWindows 8 Head Start, Consumer Preview Edition. You can

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Purchase: Ed Botts Windows 8 Head Start, Consumer

Preview Edition

Ed Botts Windows 8 Head Start, Consumer Preview Edition is a fast-paced, information-

dense guide that gives you what you need to know to thoroughly evaluate the radically

changed Windows 8, plus all-new shortcuts, tips, and secrets throughout. Youll find

detailed information on how to:

Check your system requirements and install Windows 8 the right wayas aclean install or as an upgrade that preserves data files and settings

Set up a dual-boot configuration so you can use Windows 7 and Windows 8on the same PC

Learn the secrets of Windows 8s new Start and search screens Completely revamp Start to suit your productivity needs Create custom Shut Down and Restart shortcuts Manage groups of icons Master touchscreens and tablets

Learn how to use the powerful, completely revamped Windows Explorer Work with features aimed at experts and power users, including the new

Task Manager, Hyper-V virtualization, and slick multi-monitor capabilities

This book isnt a gee whiz overview for Windows newbies; its a thoroughly tested,

carefully edited, and professionally produced guide written especially for the millions of

enthusiasts, developers, and IT pros whove downloaded Windows 8 looking for a head

start on Microsofts new operating system. In Ed Botts Windows 8 Head Start, award-
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winning author and Microsoft expert Ed Bott meticulously explains how to set up,

customize, and use Windows 8 so that youre productive and comfortable with it from

the start.

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CHAPTER 1Eight Things You Need to Know AboutWindows 8

The Windows brand name has been around for more than a quarter-century. During its long

and eventful life, Windows has evolved dramaticallysometimes with incremental changes;

occasionally in great leaps forward.

Windows 8 represents one of those big changes. Microsoft calls it a reimagining of Windows

that jettisons some of the most familiar pieces of the Windows interface and enables a new

generation of hardware. It is, arguably, the most important Windows release since Windows 95,

which introduced 32-bit computing and the Windows desktop.

This book is the first full-length look at the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, which Microsoft

released to the public on February 29, 2012. This edition represents a complete rewrite (and a

significant expansion) of the first edition ofWindows 8 Head Start, which was based on the

September 2011 Windows 8 Developer Preview.

In this edition, I show you where to download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, how to install

it, and what to doand what notto doafter you get it up and running.

The whole point of this fast-paced, information-dense guide is to help you understand how

Windows 8 works and how to leverage your existing knowledge of Windows to make sense of

new features and techniques.

The software I cover here is, technically, a beta release. Its not yet available for sale, and third-

party hardware and software support is still in very early stages. Why would you want to install

and use an operating system thats not yet ready for the general public? That depends on how

you define yourself, in technological terms:

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Are you a software developer? Over the next few years, hundreds of millions of people will

buy new PCs running Windows 8. If you want them to consider your apps, you need to design,

build, compile, test, and debug those apps so theyre ready when the Windows 8 app store

officially opens for paying customers.

Are you an IT professional? You can benefit, too, by getting an early opportunity to test

custom applications and internal systems so you can decide whether and when Windows 8 will

be ready for deployment in your organization.

Are you a Windows enthusiast? The Windows 8 feature set is largely complete in the

Consumer Preview, and Microsoft is likely to make only minor tweaks between now and the

final release. Now is the time to begin building up your knowledge of the next version of

Windows so that youre prepared with answers to questions your friends, family, and co-

workers will ask.

Before we dive into the operating system, here are eight things you need to know about

Windows 8.

1. Its ready for serious testing

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is feature-complete, with all essential subsystems working.

The user interface is likely to see some minor changes in the final release, but its basic design islocked down. Thats a big change over the earlier Developer Preview release, which offered an

incomplete look at the user interface and was primarily intended for compatibility testing by

app developers.

Microsoft officially cautions against using this release on production systems. It is, after all, a

beta, with known and unknown bugs that could result in data loss or unexpected behavior.

But I can think of no better way to learn the ins and outs of this radically reimagined system

than to use it full time with a thorough backup strategy. (And yes, I wrote this book usingMicrosoft Word 2010 on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.)

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2. The new Start screen is a radical change

The new Start screen you see when you sign in to the Windows 8 Consumer Preview is a radical

change from the Windows desktop and Start menu youve grown accustomed to in the nearlytwo decades since Windows 95.

Figure 1.1: Goodbye, Start menu. Hello, Start screen.

From the Start screen, you can click or tap a tile to run an app, view a web page, or go to the

Windows desktop, on which your traditional Windows programs reside. Moving the mouse to

the upper-right corner or swiping with a finger from the right side of a touchscreen opens the

new Charms bar, which allows you to search, share, access devices, or adjust PC settings.

3. The Windows 8 design language is called Metro

style

The new Start screen offers the first glimpse of a set of design principles that Microsoft refers to

generally as Metro style. These elementstiles, a consistent typographic treatment, the use

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of the entire screen, and a greatly simplified set of navigation techniquescan be found

throughout Windows 8 and are also used in other modern Microsoft products.

In this book, I point out elements of Metro style in apps, in the new Control Panel, and in the

streamlined new Internet Explorer, to name just a few places where you can find expressions of

this design influence.

4. Windows 8 has a dual personality

Windows 8 is one operating system that runs two very different types of applications.

New Metro style apps (sometimes referred to as immersive apps) follow the same general

design guidelines as the Start screen. They have no borders and no menus, and they behave verydifferently from the Windows programs youre using today. Theres no taskbar, so Metro style

apps cant be minimized, nor can they be dragged around as smaller windows. I explain the

differences in more detail in Chapter 3.

Figure 1.2 shows the new Metro style Internet Explorer; the row of thumbnails at the top

appears with a right-click and represents open browser tabs.

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Figure 1.2: Metro style apps use controls at the bottom (the app bar) and in some cases the

top, as in the immersive version of Internet Explorer.

Note: A default installation of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview adds 18 Metro style apps

(which Microsoft calls app previews). In addition, you can find a limited selection of third-

party apps, free for now, in the Windows Store.

The other face of Windows 8 bears an uncanny resemblance to Windows 7. To reach this

environment, click or tap the Desktop tile on the Start screen. The Desktop has the taskbar,

where you can pin icons for running programs (but not for Metro-style apps). All your existing

Windows software, including Microsoft Office, runs in this familiar environment exactly as you

would expect.

On the Windows desktop, you manage files with Windows Explorer, just as you always have. The

biggest difference in the new Windows Explorer is the addition of a ribbon in place of traditional

pull-down menus, as shown in Figure 1.3

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Figure 1.3: The new Windows Explorer groups commands on a ribbon, a UI feature first

introduced in Microsoft Office five years ago.

The only thing missing is the Start menu, which has been replaced by the new Start screen.

Note: Youll find a thorough explication of the new Windows Explorer in Chapter 5. I cover

the Windows desktop in detail in Chapter 7.

5. Its designed for use on touchscreens

The new Windows is built to work without compromise on touchscreens, including tablet

devices. Although you can find Windows-compatible, touchscreen-equipped systems today,

theyre few and far between. Expect to see a flood of tablets and touch-enabled notebooks after

Windows 8 is officially released in late 2012.

If youre lucky enough to have a touch-capable PC running the Windows 8 Consumer Preview,

this book will show you how to master the gesturesswipes, taps, pinches, and so onthat

enable its key features. Figure 1.4 shows the swipe gestures you use to access the Charms bar

and App bar.

Figure 1.4: These swipe gestures reveal the new Charms bar (left) and App bar (right).

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If youre testing Windows 8 on a conventional PC, I recommend that you skim this section in

Chapter 3 anyway, to get a sense for the logic behind the new Windows interface.

6. It works well with keyboard and mouseIf you use a conventional PC with a keyboard and mouse or other pointing device, youll find

that every aspect of the new Windows 8 interface is available to you. In particular, Windows 8

introduces a long list of new keyboard shortcuts, most of which use the Windows logo key in

combination with a letter or number. Tapping the Windows key by itself takes you to the Start

screen, while Windows key + C opens the new Charms bar. Youll find a list of the most useful

shortcuts in Chapter 3.

7. Its going to take some getting used to

Given the sweeping changes in the Windows 8 user interface, its not surprising that early

reviews have been mixed, with praise for the new user interface and a healthy dose of

grumbling over the retraining that it will require. The biggest change, of course, is the removal

of the Start button, which takes away the most visible point of access to programs and common

locations.

Windows 8 also introduces some new user-interface conventions. For example, every corner of

the display offers access to part of the new UI. Move the mouse pointer to the lower-left corner,

for example, and a thumbnail image of the Start screen appears, as shown in Figure 1.5. Click

that corner to jump to the Start screen.

Figure 1.5: Aim the mouse pointer at the lower-left corner to reveal this shortcut to the Start

screen.

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Note: In my experience, it takes only a few days of regular use to adjust to the new UIa

task made slightly easier if you customize the Windows 8 Start screen and desktop as I

recommend in Chapter 4.

8. Its not finished yet

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is a prerelease version of Windows. If you use it long enough,

you will discover bugs and glitches. Its not ready for full-time use, and you shouldnt even think

about testing it using live data unless you have a thorough backup plan and you understand the

risks of data loss.

Youll find an in-depth tour of Windows 8 in Chapter 3. But before we go there, lets get the new

operating system up and running.

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CHAPTER 2Setup and Configurationthe ShortVersion

You probably have hours of firsthand experience setting up new Windows PCs. That experience

will serve you well with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, because its setup routine resembles

Windows 7 setup in several key ways. But there are a few new wrinklesenough to trip you up

if you move too quickly.

This chapter includes what you absolutely need to know to get Windows 8 up and running on a

desktop computer, a laptop, or a tablet PC. I assume that you have a single main volume set up

using drive letter C, and that you want to replace any existing operating system with the

Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Note: For more advanced configurations, including dual boot setups and installation in avirtual machine, see Chapter 9.

Caution: You cant uninstall Windows 8 Consumer Preview if you upgrade from a previous

Windows version. The only way to roll back to that previous version is to remove Windows

8 completely and then restore your old operating system from a backup image. I strongly

recommend that you do a full backup of any system that contains important data files

before getting started.

Can Your PC Run Windows 8?The system requirements for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview might seem familiarand for

good reason. Microsoft says its design goal for Windows 8 is that it works great on the same

hardware that powers Windows Vista and Windows 7.

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The download page for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (http://bit.ly/win8-cp) contains the

official list of system requirements. As always, these are minimums. In most cases, youll get

better results by using hardware that exceeds these basic specifications. What follows is a list of

the official system requirements (in bold), followed by my comments (in italics):

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

Dont be misled by clock speeds alone; architecture is equally important. A modern CPU such as

an Intel i5 running at a seemingly modest clock speed can blow the doors off an older CPU

running at a much higher number of gigahertz.

1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

The 32-bit Windows 8 Consumer Preview uses less memory than the 64-bit version. The amounts

of RAM specified here will handle typical computing scenarios. For demanding apps (such as

photo- and video-editing programs) and for scenarios in which you expect to run many programs

at once, youll appreciate more RAM. If you plan to use Hyper-V virtualization, youll need a

minimum of 4 GB of RAM to run up to three virtual machines simultaneously.

Note: Read more about Hyper-V in Chapter 8.

16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

The amounts shown here represent free space, not total disk size. For all but the simplest testing

scenarios, I recommend using a Windows system volume that is at least 60 GB in size.

DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

A dedicated graphics processing unit usually produces smoother results than integrated graphics.

Gamers and graphics professionals need to pay special attention to GPU specifications.

Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multitouch

Windows 8 works just fine on a conventional desktop or notebook PC without touch support. (I

explain the differences in Chapter 3.) To use touch features, you need hardware that specifically

supports touch input. You can install and use Windows 8 on a device with a touchscreen that

supports single touch; in that configuration, you cant perform any action that requires multiple
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touch points, such as pinch to zoom. The operating system supports as many as 10 points of

touch.

To run Metro style apps, you need a screen resolution of 1024 768 or greater

This specification is the trickiest of all. If you use a device in which either the width or height of

the screen is less than the minimum requirement, such as a netbook with a 1280 720 display,

you cant run any Metro style apps. To arrange two Metro style apps on the screen (as described

in Chapter 3), the minimum resolution is 1366 768.

These specifications are for PCs based on Intel-compatible (x86/x64) processors. Microsoft has

publicly demonstrated a variant of Windows 8 that runs on devices built around nonIntel-

compatible low-power processors that are used in smartphones and tablet computers, most

commonly those designed by a company called ARM Holdings. The Windows 8 Consumer

Preview is not available for ARM-based deviceseven if you could find an ARM-based device

designed for Windows 8.

Downloading and Installing the Windows 8

Consumer Preview

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is available for download directly from Microsoft:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download.

The most prominent option on this page is a small (5 MB) setup program that takes seconds to

download. (The web-based installer was designed for use on Windows 7, but you can also run it

on Windows XP and Windows Vista, subject to certain limitations.) Running it generates a

compatibility report like the one shown in Figure 2.1.
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Figure 2.1: The web-based installer runs a compatibility checker and identifies issues that might

impede your upgrade.

Caution: You must be signed in as an administrator to run the Windows 8 installer.

Click See the compatibility report to display a list of specific actions you need to take, like those

shown in Figure 2.2.

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Figure 2.2: This report gives a red or green light for programs that have been tested withWindows 8. If a program isnt on either list, youre on your own.

Even if you plan to perform an upgrade using media youve already downloaded, its worth

running the web setup program just to get this report. After you get the compatibility results,

you can cancel web setup and start fresh using your local installation media.

Caution: Dont ignore the recommendations shown here. Seemingly minor issues can

cause headaches later. In particular, you might find it difficult to uninstall a program or

update a driver after the upgrade is complete.

After you complete any required and recommended tasks (removing incompatible software, for

example), click Close and then Next. The setup program begins downloading the correct

Windows version (32-bit or 64-bit) for your language. You can suspend the download process

and resume it at any time, using the Download Windows shortcut on the desktop.

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When the download is complete, you see a dialog box that asks you how to proceed. If youre

running the installer on Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you have three options available, as

shown in Figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3: After your download completes, you can begin the installation immediately or defer

the task until later.

Choose Install now and then click Next. Installation begins immediately.

Caution: The Install now option replaces the currently installed version of Windows. You

can choose to keep programs, files, and settings, but this option does not allow you to keep

your currently installed Windows version. If your Windows 8 installation fails, the setup

program will roll back to your old Windows version. If setup completes, the only way to

return to your previous Windows version is to restore it from a backup.

If you choose Install on another partition, youre offered the option to burn the downloaded

files to a bootable DVD or flash drive. (This option is not available if you run the web-based

installer from Windows XP.) See the next section for more details on creating bootable media

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The final option, Install later, lets you keep your downloaded files and run setup at a more

convenient time. (To pick up where you left off, double-click the Install Windows shortcut on the

desktop.)

If you prefer, you can download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview as an ISO disk image file. This

option is especially useful if you plan to install the operating system in a virtual machine. It also

offers a way to download the installation files once and then create installation media as

needed later.

For this release, disk image files are available in five separate languages: English, Chinese

(Simplified), French, German, and Japanese. For each language, separate 64-bit (x64) and 32-bit

(x86) files are available. The 32-bit files require approximately 2.5 GB of disk space; the 64-bit

files are larger, at around 3.3 GB in size. You can download the ISO files directly from

http://bit.ly/win8-cp-iso.

WHERE ARE THE DEVELOPER TOOLS?

In the previous milestone release, Microsoft wrapped its package of development tools

into a disk image that included the appropriate version of the Windows 8 Developer

Preview. For this release, those tools are distributed separately. Youll find Microsoft

Visual Studio 11 Express Beta for Windows 8, the Software Development Kit, and other

tools here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/hh852659.

As I explain in the next section, you can burn the downloaded Windows 8 Consumer Preview

files to DVD or a USB flash drive for installation.
http://bit.ly/win8-cp-isohttp://bit.ly/win8-cp-isohttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/hh852659http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/hh852659http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/hh852659http://bit.ly/win8-cp-iso

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Preparing Your Installation Media

If you have sufficient free space on your main hard disk and you plan to upgrade an existing

Windows installation, you can skip the necessity to burn a DVD or create a bootable flash drive.

The web-based setup program saves the downloaded installer files to the WindowsESD folder in

the root of your system drive. (ESD is short for Electronic Software Distribution.) You can copy

that entire folder to a USB flash drive, to an external hard drive, or to a local hard drive on the

PC you plan to upgrade. Open the WindowsESD folder in Windows Explorer and double-click the

Setup file to begin an upgrade installation from Windows.

If you chose to download an ISO file, you need to extract the files from the disk image and copy

them to a folder on the hard disk. (Many software utilities allow you to extract files from an ISO.I recommend the free 7-Zip program athttp://7-zip.org.)

Create a folder on a local drive with sufficient disk space, give it a name such as W8-install, and

open that folder in Windows Explorer. Then extract the files from the ISO file into the C:\W8-

install folder, preserving the folder structure from the ISO file. In Windows Explorer, double-click

Setup and follow the upgrade instructions later in this chapter.

A folder full of Windows setup files can't be used to install Windows on a separate partition or

to perform a clean installation. Likewise, you cant directly use an ISO file to install Windows ona physical PC. Instead, you must create bootable media that you can use for installation.

Note: If youre installing the Windows 8 Consumer Preview in a virtual machine, you can

attach the ISO file directly to the virtual CD/DVD drive, in which the virtualization manager

will treat the disk image as if it were a physical disk. See Chapter 8 for more details on

virtualization options and Chapter 9 for pointers on installing Windows 8 in a virtual

machine.

Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive from Downloaded Installer Files

It requires a bit more preparation, but if you plan to install the Windows 8 Consumer Preview on

multiple systems you can save a significant amount of time by creating a bootable USB flash

drive that contains the Windows 8 Consumer Preview installation files. The biggest time saving

comes when the Setup program copies the Windows installation files to the target volume;

copying from a USB flash drive is much faster than doing the same task from a DVD.
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If you already used the web-based installer to download Windows 8 Consumer Preview setup

files on a PC running Windows 7, you can create installation media directly or indirectly from

those files. Double-click the Install Windows shortcut on the desktop, click Install on another

partition, and then click Next. That opens the dialog box shown in Figure 2.4.

Figure 2.4: The web-based Windows 8 installer allows you to create a bootable USB flash drive

or DVD for setup on another machine.

The top option requires a USB flash drive that is at least 3 GB in size (4 GB for 64-bit installation

files). Insert the drive in an accessible USB port, click Next, and follow the instructions. All

existing files on the drive will be erased, and the resulting drive will be bootable.

The second option transforms the downloaded setup files into a disk image, in ISO format. You

can then use that ISO file to create a bootable DVD (or attach it to a virtual machine).

Note: The bootable media you create will match the Windows version you downloaded. If

you used the web-based Windows 8 Consumer Preview installer on a system running 32-bit

Windows, the bootable media will also be 32-bit. If you want to install the 64-bit version of

Windows 8 on the same hardware (or on a different PC), youll need to run the web-based

download again on a system that is running a 64-bit Windows version or download a 64-bit

ISO file.

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Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive from an ISO File

If you have already downloaded a copy of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview in ISO disk image

format, you can easily create a bootable USB flash drive from that file. Youll need a completely

empty USB flash drive of 4 GB or larger and a software utility to perform the transformation.

The easiest software tool to use is Microsofts Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. It was

originally designed for use with Windows 7 images downloaded from the Microsoft Store, but it

works just fine with Windows 8.

You can get this tool from a variety of sources, including CNET Download.com, the Codeplex

open source program repository, and (naturally) the Microsoft Store. You can find download

links athttp://bit.ly/usb-dvd-tool.

Download and install the utility on any PC running Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit), Windows Vista,

or Windows XP SP2 or later.

Open the utility and follow a few simple steps. First, click Browse to select the ISO file you

downloaded and saved earlier (Figure 2.5). Click Next to continue.

Figure 2.5: Click the Browse button to select the ISO file containing the Windows 8 installer

files.

After you specify the location of the ISO file you downloaded, the next step allows you to choose

whether you want to burn the ISO file to a DVD or copy the files to a bootable USB flash drive.

Figure 2.6 shows your options.
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Figure 2.6: Although the informational screens in this free utility say Windows 7, this tool also

works with Windows 8.

Click USB device to proceed to the next screen (Figure 2.7). If youve already inserted the emptyflash drive, youll be able to select it from the list of available devices, as shown here. (If you

click DVD in the previous step, this step is where you select the drive containing the blank DVD.)

Figure 2.7: Click the Refresh button if your USB flash drive isnt recognized automatically when

you insert it.

Click Begin copying and then do something else for the 20 minutes or so that it should take to

extract and copy the files from the disk image to the USB flash drive.

You now have a device that you can boot from to begin setup on a desktop or notebook PC.

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Note: A bootable flash drive created using this utility or using the Diskpart command will

work fine on PCs that use a conventional BIOS. That description covers the overwhelming

majority of PCs in use today. If the design of your PC uses Unified Extensible Firmware

Interface (UEFI) in place of a conventional BIOS, this utility might not help. With a UEFI-

equipped PC, you might need to take special measures to adjust the configuration before

setup can begin. UEFI-based systems are rare today but not unheard of; they will be much

more common when Windows 8 ships. Youre most likely to encounter UEFI if you have a

high-end business class notebook from a top-tier manufacturer.

Burn an ISO File to DVD

With the help of a DVD-burning program, you can transfer an ISO disk image to a physical disk.

This isnt as simple as copying the contents of the file to a data disk. Instead, you have to extract

the contents of the disk image to a DVD and make that DVD bootable.

If you have a Windows 7 PC with a compatible DVD burner, no additional software is required:

Pop in a blank DVD, double-click the ISO file to open it in Windows Disk Image Burner (Figure

2.8), and click Burn.

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Figure 2.8: Use the Windows 7 Disc Image Burner utility to transform a downloaded ISO file

into a bootable DVD.

You can also use a third-party DVD-burning program to handle this task. You might already own

a commercial program from Nero or Roxio, or you can use the free ImgBurn program availableathttp://imgburn.com. The free Microsoft tool described in the previous section also allows you

to turn an ISO disk image file into a DVD, quickly and with minimal fuss.

Perform a Clean Install

The simplest option of all is a clean install. This type of installation doesnt carry over any

existing data files, programs, or settings. You can start with an unformatted hard disk or you can

use disk management tools included with the Setup program to manage existing hard diskvolumes.

Note: If your current version of Windows is 32-bit, and you want to install a 64-bit

Windows edition, a clean install is your only option. If you try to run a 64-bit installer on a

32-bit Windows PC, you will see an error message. There is no workaround.

To begin a clean install of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you must start your computer

from a bootable installation source such as a DVD or a bootable USB flash drive. Typically, that

involves pressing a key during the startup process to select the correct boot media. On many

Dell PCs, for example, pressing F12 brings up the Boot Options menu, from which you can select

the DVD or USB flash drive that you set up using the ISO download in the previous step.

The first screen you see allows you to select your language and keyboard layout. For the

Windows 8 Consumer Preview, five languages are available for downloadthe entry you see in

the Language to install box (Figure 2.9) should match the one you downloaded. If your preferred

language is not on this list, you can use the English download and choose time and currency

settings that match your region. You can also select an alternative keyboard layout at this stage

of setup.
http://imgburn.com/http://imgburn.com/http://imgburn.com/http://imgburn.com/

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Figure 2.9: The Windows 8 Consumer Preview supports five languages. You can choose

alternative regional settings as well.

After verifying that these settings are correct, click Next to continue.

On the following screen (Figure 2.10), click Install now.

Tip: Notice the "Repair your computer" option in the lower-left corner of this screen. Ifyou ever need to repair a damaged installation, you can boot your PC from the installation

media using the steps I just described and then choose this option.

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Figure 2.10: The bootable installation media (DVD or USB flash drive) can be used for setup or

to repair problems with Windows.

This is the point at which Setup officially begins. Before you can proceed, you must enter a valid

product key in the box shown in Figure 2.11.

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Figure 2.11: For the Consumer Preview, Microsoft has supplied public product keys that anyone

can use.

Tip: You must enter a key to continue. Thats a departure from the setup for Windows 7

and Windows Vista, both of which allow you to leave this box blank, proceed with setup,

and enter a product key as much as 30 days later, before activating. Its uncertain whether

this restriction will continue with the final release of Windows 8.

For the Consumer Preview, Microsoft has supplied two public product keys that will work with

any installation. These 25-character alphanumeric keys are available on the download page for

the Windows 8 disk image files and on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview FAQ page. You can use

either of these keys an unlimited number of times:

DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

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NF32V-Q9P3W-7DR7Y-JGWRW-JFCK8

After you accept the license terms, youre confronted with the following screen. Although it

appears to offer two installation options, as shown in Figure 2.12, only one of these choices

actually works. If you click the top option (Upgrade: Install Windows and keep files, settings, and

apps), youll be scolded with an error message that tells you to run the setup program from

within Windows. Because youre doing a clean installation, choose the second option, Custom:

Install Windows only (advanced).

Figure 2.12: When you run setup from a bootable DVD or USB flash drive, only the Custom

(advanced) option is available.

And now things begin to get interesting. The next step asks you to choose where you want to

install Windows. If youre performing a clean install on a system that has an existing Windows

installation, you can choose that partition and click Next.

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Note: If you choose to do a clean install on a disk that already contains a Windows

installation and you elect not to wipe the existing partition first, the Setup program moves

your old Windows installation and data files (specifically, the Program Files, Users, and

Windows folders) to a newly created folder called Windows.old. If you want to reuse any

files from those locations, you must manually copy or move them. Youll be able to do this

after your new Windows 8 installation is complete.

In the following example, because the system contains a single unformatted hard disk, the only

option is a block of unallocated space equal in size to the capacity of the entire hard disk, as

shown in Figure 2.13. Click Next if you want to allow the Setup program to automatically create

and format the necessary volumes using all that space.

Figure 2.13: On a new, unformatted hard drive or solid state drive (SSD), you can select the full

block of unallocated space and let Setup handle partitioning chores.

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Note: If you want to make any changes to existing volumes, see the detailed instructions

in Chapter 9.

Figure 2.14 shows what the same dialog box looks like if you perform a clean install on a systemthat already has Windows 7 installed:

Figure 2.14: For a custom install, make sure you select the correct partition.

If you select the System Reserved partition (as I did here), the Setup program displays a warning

message that you cant install Windows there. Select the other partition and then click Next to

continue.

The Installing Windows phase requires no intervention on your part. You could stay and stare

as the dialog box tracks the progress of each of the five phases (Copying Windows files,

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Expanding Windows files, and so on), but its really better at this point to go do something

elseget a cup of coffee, take a walk, play with the dog Come back in 20 minutes or so. When

you do, you should find yourself in the interactive phase of setup.

Most of the steps youre about to encounter are functionally similar to those youve tackled in

earlier Windows versions. The biggest difference is visual, because these steps all use the new

Metro style.

The Metro style makes its first appearance on the screen shown in Figure 2.15, in which you

assign a name to your computer and choose a background color for the new Start screen:

Figure 2.15: Although the description says you can give your PC any name you want, you should

restrict that name to 15 characters or fewer.

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You can enter just about any name you want here, up to 15 characters in length, provided that it

uses only letters, numbers, and the hyphen character. Spaces are not permitted. It should not

be the same as your username, it cant be made up exclusively of numbers, and you are not

allowed to use any special characters other than a hyphen.

After you get past that task and click Next, you get the opportunity to customize your

computers settings. On a computer with a Wi-Fi connection but no Ethernet connectiona

common configuration for many laptopsthe next screen displays available wireless networks

and prompts you to connect to one. Although you can wait until later, its a good idea to make

that connection now to save hassles later.

If youre anxious to continue and youre willing to accept the Windows 8 defaults, click Use

express settings, as shown in Figure 2.16.

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Figure 2.16: Using the express settings option simplifies setup. You can always adjust individual

settings later.

Or, if you prefer, you can click the Customize button and go through the full range of settings,

tweaking them to your liking. Because this process is the same whether you are doing a cleaninstall or an upgrade, Ive broken out its individual steps into the Customizing Settings section

at the end of this chapter.

Finally, you need to create a user account. This process represents a very big change, because

Windows 8 adds a new account type alongside the traditional local user account. If you accept

the default setting and enter your email address as your username, Windows creates a

Microsoft account on the local machine. This new account type uses a Windows Live service to

synchronize your settings with other Windows 8 PCs where you sign in with the same email

address.

In the Sign in dialog box shown here, enter the email address you want to associate with your

user account. (Hint: if you already have an account that you use with Hotmail, Windows Live, or

Xbox Live, you can use that address and password.)

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Figure 2.17: Linking an email address to your user account allows you to synchronize settings

with other PCs running Windows 8.

If you dont have a Windows Live ID, or if you have one but dont want to associate it with your

Windows account, enter an existing email addressone that you control and usein this box. It

doesnt have to be your primary email address, nor does it have to be from a Microsoft-branded

service such as Hotmail. If the address you enter isnt already associated with a Windows Live ID,

the Setup program will create a new Windows Live ID and help you assign a password to it.

Note: Although Microsoft hasnt come out and said so, its apparent that it is de-

emphasizing the Windows Live brand, beginning with Windows 8. That will probably lead to

some confusion as you run into some services that use the old Windows Live branding and

others that refer to Microsoft accounts. Theyre the same thing.

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If you prefer to use a standard Windows account with a username and password, click the Dont

want to sign in with a Microsoft account? link at the bottom of this page. That removes the box

to enter an email address and replaces it with the pair of buttons and accompanying

explanatory text shown in Figure 2.18.

Figure 2.18: Choose the Local account option if you dont want to synchronize account settings

with other PCs.

Click Local account to proceed to a page in which you can enter a traditional username, assign a

password, and add a password hint.

When you finish the account-creation process, youre done. The next thing youll see is the

Windows Start screen.

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Upgrade an Existing Windows Installation

The clean install I described in the previous section requires attention to technical details such

as disk partitions. The process is much easier if you upgrade an existing installation of WindowsVista or Windows 7. (In this book, I assume youre running Windows 7. Some details might be

different if youre upgrading from Windows Vista.)

The upgrade rules in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview are fairly straightforward:

Do a backup first. Murphys Law of Computers says the best way to ensuresomething goes wrong is to skip this step.

While the upgrade is proceeding, your computer is unavailable for youruse.

The upgrade version32-bit or 64-bitmust be the same as the existingWindows version. You cant upgrade a 32-bit installation of Windows 7 to

a 64-bit version of Windows 8, for example.

You dont need to choose a disk partition or enter a computer name. Setuppicks up these and other settings from your current Windows installation.

You can choose whether to transfer your existing data files to the newWindows 8 installation or whether to start with a single newly created user

account.

For upgrades from Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can choose whetherto migrate Windows settings, such as desktop backgrounds.

For upgrades from Windows 7 only, you can also choose whether tomigrate currently installed Windows programs to the new Windows

installation. If you choose not to move programs as part of the upgrade,

any files associated with those previously installed programs are moved to

corresponding folders in the Windows.old folder.

Caution: Because this is a beta release, the likelihood of problems during the upgradeprocess is higher than normal. The initial compatibility report should flag programs that are

known to cause problems, but if your current Windows 7 installation includes dozens of

programs, youll probably encounter some that dont migrate properly. In some cases, a

balky program might even cause the upgrade to fail. In that case, Windows Setup should

roll back the changes and restore your existing Windows installation.

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If youre certain you want to proceed, kick off the upgrade process from within your current

version of Windows, by running the Setup program from your installation media. (With a DVD,

for example, open the DVD in Windows Explorer and double-click Setup.)

Setup begins by asking you whether it should get online updates first. The only good reason to

say no is if you lack a fast or reliable Internet connection.

The next step asks you whether you want to keep user accounts and files. The contents of this

dialog box vary, depending on your current Windows version. Figure 2.19 shows what youll see

when upgrading from Windows 7:

Figure 2.19: When you perform an upgrade installation from Windows 7, you can migrate

Windows settings, data files, and currently installed programs.

If you choose the first option (Windows settings, personal files, and apps), your new Windows 8installation will contain a set of user accounts that matches those youre currently using, and the

upgrade process will migrate data files from your user profile to corresponding folders in the

new installation. Any currently installed Windows programs will be available in the Windows 8

desktop.

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Note: The wording of this dialog box is potentially confusing. Although it offers to let you

keep apps, it really means Windows desktop programs.

The second option (Just personal files) creates new user accounts that match the current onesand copies files from the user profiles for those accounts to the newly created Windows 8

profiles. Windows settings and installed programs are discarded.

If you choose the final option (Nothing), Setup creates a single new user account for you.

Just as with a clean install, you have the option to use a default group of settings or to click

through a series of pages to fine-tune privacy and update preferences, among other settings. If

youre curious or picky about these options, you can skip ahead to the next section,

Customizing Settings, for details.

If your current installation contains any incompatible programs, Setup alerts you about them

here (see Figure 2.20). If you have Microsoft Security Essentials installed, for example, youll

need to remove it before the upgrade can continue.

Figure 2.20: If any action on this list requires a restart, Setup resumes automatically when the

restart is complete.

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Note: Windows 8 includes an updated version of Windows Defender, which is functionally

equivalent to Microsoft Security Essentials. If you install a Windows 8compatible third-

party security program, Windows Defender will disable its antivirus functionality in favor of

the third-party program.

The last step is where you complete the process of migrating your existing user accounts or

creating a new account. If you chose the option to keep your user accounts and data files, youre

asked to enter your existing password to confirm that this is indeed your account, as shown in

Figure 2.21.

Figure 2.21: At the conclusion of an upgrade, you need to confirm your identity by entering

your old Windows password.

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When you click Next, youre given the choice of converting your local user account to a

Microsoft account using a Windows Live ID. This dialog box (Figure 2.22) is similar to the one

that you see when you perform a clean install:

Figure 2.22: During the upgrade process, youre given the choice of converting your local

account to a Microsoft account whose settings sync with other PCs you own.

If you chose to link an email address to your account, you can enter its password on the next

page (for an existing Windows Live ID) or create a new password (if the email address you used

is not currently associated with a Windows Live ID).

The email address box at the top of the page is optional. Enter an address here if youwant to convert your local user account to a Microsoft account so you can synchronize

your user settings with other PCs.

If you want to continue using your existing local account, leave the top box blank.

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Click a button at the bottom of the page to continue: Click Next if you are using aMicrosoft account (Windows Live ID) for synchronization or Skip if you want to continue

using the traditional local account name you used with your previous Windows version.

And with that, youre done.

Note: Setting up a Microsoft account enables synchronization; however, some settings

dont begin syncing until you complete an additional security step. For more details, see

Chapter 4.

Customizing Settings

In both a custom installation and an upgrade, you have the option to configure settings

manually. After you click the Customize button to begin this process, you will need to go

through at least three and possibly as many as five pages.

If the Setup program can successfully identify and configure a network adapter, it will connect to

your network (in the case of a wireless adapter, you will have to choose a wireless network and

enter a security key). If youre successful, the Settings page (shown in Figure 2.23) appears.

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Figure 2.23: Use this option to enable sharing and network discovery on a home or business

network.

The next step allows you to configure how your PC communicates with Microsofts update

servers and whether you want to use the online SmartScreen Filter to check the safety of web

addresses, downloads, files, and apps. I recommend that you keep the default settings shown in

Figure 2.24

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Figure 2.24: By default, automatic updates and SmartScreen filters are enabled. I recommend

keeping these settings on.

Click Next to display a set of options that allows you to decide how much information your

computer automatically sends to Microsoft. Personally, I dont believe that any of these settings

represents a threat to an individuals privacy. You are free to disagree with me, however, and

slide any of these switches to the left (Off) position.

Youll note one exception in the next screen shown. The Help improve Microsoft software and

services by sending info to the Customer Experience Improvement Program switch is set to On

by default and cant be disabled (see Figure 2.25). Thats a condition that Microsoft imposes as

part of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview program: Your feedback, sent automatically and

anonymously, allows Microsoft to identify bugs and usability issues. For the final release, this

setting will be optional.

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Figure 2.25: If youre concerned about privacy, you can disable most of these settings. The

grayed-out setting is mandatory for this prerelease version.

Note: To learn more about the Customer Experience Improvement Program, visit this web

page:http://www.microsoft.com/products/ceip .

The fourth Settings page covers options that automatically download content (as opposed to

updates) to your computer. As with the previous screen, all options are enabled, and one cant

be disabled. If Windows or an app crashes or encounters an error, a report is captured and

uploaded to Microsoft via the Windows Error Reporting Service.

These reports collectively represent one of the most crucial pieces of the prerelease

development process for Microsoft. If you do even a moderate amount of testing, you willrun

into errors, and the report that is sent automatically to Microsoft might contain a crucial
http://www.microsoft.com/products/ceiphttp://www.microsoft.com/products/ceiphttp://www.microsoft.com/products/ceiphttp://www.microsoft.com/products/ceip

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technical detail needed to identify and fix that bug. I recommend that you keep the default

settings shown in Figure 2.26.

Figure 2.26: Windows Error Reporting cant be disabled for this prerelease version.

Caution: It is possible for an error report to include some personal or confidential

information. Microsoft has strict policies in place to ensure that any such information is not

used to identify you or contact you. If you are concerned that sensitive information fromdata files might be included in an error report, you should avoid using those files on a

system running the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. For more details on the Microsoft Error

Reporting Service, which is available with Windows and other programs, see this web page:

http://wer.microsoft.com/responses/en-us/dcp20.aspx .
http://wer.microsoft.com/responses/en-us/dcp20.aspxhttp://wer.microsoft.com/responses/en-us/dcp20.aspxhttp://wer.microsoft.com/responses/en-us/dcp20.aspx

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